NJSBA Bar Report logo. Credit: New Jersey State Bar Association;

McCarter & English rock group to compete in battle of the bands for charity

Joseph R. Scholz is a business litigator with McCarter & English, but moonlights as a hard rock drummer in bands that play across New York City. He's also a member of Amperband, a seven-piece rock band from the McCarter & English offices who share a passion for music. For one night on Oct. 19, the Amperband will break from playing internal company events to compete against eight other attorney and law firm rock groups in a battle of the bands-style event. The 8th Annual Law Rocks New York City show, held at the Gramercy Theatre, gives legal professionals a chance to rock out while raising money for their favorite charities. Amperband is thrilled to support the Community FoodBank of New Jersey as it competes for the top prize. Scholz, a New Jersey State Bar Association member since 2010, spoke recently about his musical background, history with Amperband and the upcoming show. Those interested in buying tickets or donating can visit lawrocks.org. 

Talk about your musical background—what instruments you play and how you got into music.  

I started playing drums when I was 14. I joined the beginner's band in high school and got the bug. Ever since then I've played, never professionally, but just to have fun. As a high school student I started a band and played parties.  In college and law school, I played in bands that would do the occasional gig, but nothing too serious. After I started my legal career and realized how hard this job was, I thought it was probably a good idea to get back into music. I found some friends in New York City, where I live, who were also professionals and looking to blow off some steam. We started playing mostly cover songs in small rehearsal studios, which was a lot of fun. As the band members slowly rotated over time, we became more interested in writing our own songs instead of playing just covers, so we went through a phase where we did that for a long time. We recorded a lot of music and played gigs all around the city. It was a lot of fun. Since then I've had a few other bands that have done the same thing. I did that pretty continuously until the pandemic hit.